Senate Passes Hurricane Code

May 4, 2000|By MARK HOLLIS Tallahassee Bureau and Linda Kleindienst of the Tallahassee Bureau contributed to this report.

TALLAHASSEE - — Borrowing from the lessons of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the Florida Legislature has reached a compromise on a new statewide building code that would require hurricane shutters and other high-wind protections for all new coastal homes.

Ending weeks of legislative gridlock, the Florida Senate on Wednesday unanimously agreed to a deal that imposes South Florida's rigid construction standards on coastal areas throughout the state but postpones implementation of the new code until July 1, 2001.

House leaders have signed off on the deal, which is expected to receive a final blessing from the full House in the next two days.

The code unifies more than 400 local building standards affecting everything from electrical components used to the types of plumbing and roofing that are allowed. The code also applies to all new schools and commercial structures.

Despite its sweeping impacts, the most controversial -- and most vigorously debated -- element of the code is the requirement that new homes in areas prone to hurricane-strength winds be equipped with special shutters or impact-resistant glass or be designed to withstand sustained winds of 120 to 130 mph.

The "windborne debris" requirements, which closely follow recommendations made in February by the Florida Building Commission, are already in place in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. Those South Florida counties boosted building standards after Hurricane Andrew caused billions of dollars in property damage.

The legislation would allow local governments to alter the state code to meet local needs, but only if the governments prove why they need to do so.

Several South Florida legislators pressed for strong regulations over objections from homebuilders who fear the changes will dramatically increase construction costs.

"If you've been through a hurricane, this is a no-brainer," said Sen. Daryl Jones, D-Miami. "You realize the code needs to be strong. To weaken the code for builders around the state doesn't make sense."

The code leaves intact, for at least a year, the strict regulations South Florida counties have for approving new building materials.

Sen. Howard Forman, D-Pembroke Pines, raised fears that a statewide product approval process, should it be weaker than what is already in place in South Florida, could have catastrophic results.

"I know some people want to think that one size fits all when it comes to product approval but it's not a little, simple formula," Forman said. "We're in hurricane alley and we know best what we want. Twenty-seven percent of the state's population lives in the most hurricane-prone area and they won't feel comfortable."

The political battle that has played out behind the scenes in developing the nation's first statewide unified building code has pitted two powerful state industries -- homebuilders and insurance companies -- against one another.

Homebuilders, who say the new hurricane restrictions will increase the cost of new homes by anywhere from $200 to $25,000, sought to limit the rules to as small an area as possible. The insurance industry, worried that shattered windows cause interior damage that requires unnecessary reimbursements, want as much of the state as possible covered by the restrictions.

To win passage of the deal, House and Senate leaders weakened windborne debris standards for parts of the Florida Panhandle where a leading sponsor of the building code, Sen. Charles Clary, R-Destin, lives. In that area, the deal limits the stricter building standards to new homes built within one mile of the Gulf Coast. Early plans would have extended the standards to several entire Panhandle counties.

Clary, an architect, said the tougher guidelines aren't necessary in the Panhandle where there is no record this past century of winds as destructive as those experienced during Hurricane Andrew. But weather experts have warned that North Florida might still see such a windstorm.

Despite the weaker standards in the Panhandle, insurance industry representatives joined homebuilders' lobbyists on Wednesday in expressing support for the proposed building code.

"We think this is a very good bill," said Sam Miller, an insurance industry lobbyist. "It's historic. It gives Florida the highest standards in the nation."

Wellington Meffert of the Florida Homebuilders Association said the new plan requires insurance companies to give discounts on homes built in accordance with the new protections, a benefit he said he hopes will help offset increased building costs.

Meffert also noted that the bill sets up a pilot project involving the construction of 12 homes. The structures will be built to the proposed new standards to determine how they affect costs and how much of a discount insurance companies will be required to offer coastal homeowners.

Linda Kleindienst of the Tallahassee Bureau contributed to this report.

Mark Hollis can be reached at mhollis@sun-sentinel.com or 850-224-6214.